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Rowland Frederick Hilder

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(28 June 1905 – 21 April 1993) was an English landscape artist and book illustrator.

Early life

He was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to Roland and Kitty Hilder (née Fissenden). Following the outbreak of the First World War, Hilder's English father decided in 1915 to return to his native county of Kent, England, to enlist in the army. Hilder studied at

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

, in south London where he met botanical artist Edith Blenkiron (1903-1992). They married and had two children. As a student with little money he cycled into Kent and discovered the Shoreham Valley in the

North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

where he sketched the same barn drawn by the painter

Samuel Palmer Samuel Palmer Hon.RE (Hon. Fellow of the Society of Painter-Etchers) (27 January 180524 May 1881) was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and p ...

in the 1820s. This interest in the countryside began a lifelong passion for drawing landscapes in both pencil and watercolour, initially of Kent, "the Garden of England", and the Thames with its sailing vessels and old buildings.

Career

Hilder was commissioned by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

to illustrate books. He was awarded the Times Illustrator award for his end papers and monochrome drawings of Stevenson's ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' in 1929. In the 1930s he illustrated several books. In 1929 Hilder was commissioned by Shell Mex Ltd to illustrate "Then and Now", a travel guide which started a long relationship with the company with posters sponsored by them. In 1953 when asked by the publisher George Rainbird to provide background landscapes to a series of wildflowers by another artist, Hilder showed him pictures of flowers by his wife Edith. Rainbird then commissioned them both to create the Shell "Flowers of the Countryside" series. Demand was so great that Shell set up an office to deal with correspondence and 13 million plates were published. He was also a cover artist for ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' and, together with Edith, illustrated the ''

Ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

Book of British Wild Flowers'' published in 1957. He was an army camouflage officer during the Second World War and then became a mainstay of the Ministry of Information. Hilder served as President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours from 1964 to 1974. He was awarded an

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Influence

He has been called 'the

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

of his generation', and according to the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' 'The description "Rowland Hilder country" (attached primarily to the

weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...

of Kent) evokes a landscape as distinctive and personal as " Constable's country" along the Suffolk Stour.'Denis Thomas, 'Hilder, Rowland Frederick (1905–1993)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 30 June 2009
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilder, Rowland 1905 births 1993 deaths 20th-century English painters Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London British landscape artists British marine artists British modern painters English illustrators English male painters Officers of the Order of the British Empire Artists from Kent 20th-century English male artists